[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of June 19, 2009. To be added to their mailing list, email the station at SFPD.RICHMOND.STATION@SFGOV.ORG or visit their website.]
CAPTAIN RICHARD CORREIA’S MESSAGE
On June 8, 2009 at 2:00 AM Officers were dispatched to 11th Avenue and Clement Street on a call of two suspects that had vandalized a building with graffiti. The suspects had spray painted the side of a building with letters that each measured two feet by three. The graffiti was twenty-two letters long and coved an area of nearly 120 square feet.
The officers quickly located two people that matched the description the caller provided. The suspects had several cans of spray paint with them and both had paint on their hands. The caller was brought to the scene and he positively identified the suspects as the perpetrators of the vandalism. Both individuals were arrested to felony vandalism and conspiracy
At 4:00 AM on June 22, 2009 a passerby called 911 to report graffiti vandalism in progress. The caller heard the hiss of aerosol paint and then saw two individuals vandalizing buildings at 18th and Geary. The suspects were advancing eastbound on Geary, one on the north side of the street and one on the south. They vandalized buildings as they advanced down Geary from 18th Avenue to 12th Avenue. Another suspect followed the pair in his car, which carried additional cans of spray paint. Between those two intersections the suspects vandalized numerous buildings with spray paint. Richmond Station officers met the caller at 12th and Geary and broadcast a description of the suspect’s vehicle, which led to other Richmond Station Officers stopping the vehicle minutes later at Gough and Geary Streets. Three suspects were arrested for felony vandalism and conspiracy.
Currently the Inner Richmond and the Geary corridor are “graffiti hot spotsâ€. The actual amount of graffiti vandalism committed in the Richmond is difficult to quantify since the amount of new graffiti we see exceeds that number of cases that are reported. Officers remain alert at all times for acts of vandalism and from time to time catch a person in the act and make an arrest. However, experience tells me that it is your calls that lead to the majority of our arrests for graffiti vandalism. Please stay vigilant and keep calling us.
If you see graffiti vandalism in progress please call 911 immediately.
If you discover graffiti after the suspects have fled, you can come to Richmond Station to make a report or call 553-0123 to request a police officer to come to your location. You can also file your report on-line at www.sfgov.org/site/police.
You can also report graffiti you see anywhere in the city by calling 311 or visiting www.sfgov.org/311. The City Department of Public Works (DPW) will paint out graffiti on public property and notify other agencies and private property owners of the presence of graffiti, so they can remove it. The DPW can compel property owners to choose between removing graffiti themselves and paying the cost city crews doing the work.
Making a report is critical for police to identify graffiti vandalism trends, which we considered when we deploy officers and develop crime reduction strategies. In addition, since some graffiti vandals use the same mark each time, at times we are able to connect an identified suspect to several incidents.
Once you have reported graffiti vandalism on your property it is important to remove the graffiti within 48 hours. Experience shows that if you do this repeatedly, vandals are unlikely to return. You should only use matching paint to cover the graffiti and it is a good idea to have some graffiti remover included among your home cleaning supplies. Please photograph the graffiti before removing it.
NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 06/20/09 at 6:00 PM, officers responded to a business on the 3700 block of Geary Boulevard. An employee was reporting that a person was in the store attempting to purchase merchandise with a fraudulent check. Officers detained the suspect who gave a false drivers license to the officers. The officers determined that the check had been forged and the license was altered. Further investigation led to the true identity of the suspect who was on probation from San Mateo County. The suspect was also in possession of checks that had been stolen along with US Mail from various victims. A 26 year old male was charged with Burglary, forgery and providing false identification.
On 06/2/091 at 12:35 AM officers responded to the unit block of Loyola Terrace regarding a call of a hot prowl burglary. The caller stated that he was watching TV in bed when a male, whom he did not know, walked into his bedroom. The suspect was holding the victims cordless phone that had been in the kitchen. The suspect told the victim that he had just been robbed and asked if he could use the victim’s phone. The victim yelled for the suspect to get out of the house and then grabbed another phone and called 911. The suspect gave the victim his driver’s license while he waited for the police. While waiting the victim noticed that a set of keys were missing and confronted the suspect. The suspect pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and claimed they were his. The victim recognized them as his keys and grabbed them from the suspect. Officers arrived on scene to find the suspect standing on the front stairs. During the investigation it was determined that there had been no robbery and that the suspect had been involved in a domestic violence incident several blocks away. The 44 year old male was charged with burglary and possession of stolen property.
On 06/22/09 at 4:00 AM a caller reported that he was following two males that were doing graffiti on both sides of Geary between 18th Avenue and 12th Avenue as they were walking eastbound. The suspects were being followed by a green SUV that had several other males in it. While the officers were en route the caller told dispatch the two males got into the SUV and fled east on Geary. The caller provided dispatch with the license plate number of the vehicle. Officers located the vehicle and conducted a stop. The witness identified the males and showed the officers 5 locations that had been vandalized. Three of the males, 18, 19 and 24 years of age, were charged with felony vandalism, possession of graffiti tools.
On 06/24/09 at 4:08 AM officers responded to the area of 22nd Ave and Balboa on numerous calls of shots fired. Several of the callers provided dispatch with a vehicle description and direction, however all callers wished to remain anonymous. Officers spotted a car, which matched the description, and conducted a stop at 29th Avenue and Anza. Two males in the vehicle were detained but a gun was not located. The driver had a suspended license and was on felony probation. The driver was also in possession of narcotics. The passenger had a large knife concealed on his waistband. Officers searched the area for the gun but they were unable to find the weapon. Shell casings were located in the middle of the street on Balboa between 22nd and 23rd Avenues. The driver, a 33-year-old male was charged with possession of narcotics, driving on a suspended license and a warrant previously issued for suspended license. The passenger, a 29-year-old male was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 06/20/09 at 3:35 PM on the 1400 block of Baker Street, a resident of the neighborhood confronted two males that were dumping trash onto the sidewalk from the back of a pickup truck. As the victim was writing down the license plate of the truck, one of the occupants of the truck walked towards him with a pair of scissors in his hand. The victim retreated to his home and called the police. The suspects fled the area.
On 06/24/09 at 1:23 AM a victim was walking south on 21st Avenue approaching Anza when he heard footsteps behind him. The victim turned around and saw the suspect with a gun in his hand. The suspect pointed the gun at the victim said, “Give me what you gotâ€. The victim turned over his wallet. The suspect then fled north on 21st towards Geary to an awaiting dark colored 4 door sedan that fled east on Geary Boulevard. The suspect was described as a male wearing dark baggy clothes and a baseball cap. The incident was not reported until 12:30 PM that afternoon.
On 06/24/09 at 8:30 AM a victim was in front of his home on the 3000 block of Sacramento St. He was preparing to go on a bike ride and his bike was leaning in the building. He was standing about 5 feet from his bike, putting on his cycling shoes, when the suspect ran up, picked up the bike and rode it away eastbound on Sacramento. The victim attempted to follow but, as he was wearing his bike shoes, was unsuccessful at catching up with the thief. The suspect was described as a male, 50 to 60 years of age, wearing a gray top and black sweatpants. The bicycle is valued at $6500.00.
On 06/25/09 at 3:53 AM officers responded to the 300 block of Cornwall on a call of a two vehicles on fire. SFFD extinguished the fires. A neighbor told the officers that he had heard voices outside and the sound of glass breaking. He went outside to investigate and saw the cars on fire. He also saw a cab driver who said he saw two males running from the scene and then flee in a vehicle.